The Castle in the Attic is a children's fantasy novel by Elizabeth Winthrop and illustrator Trina Schart Hyman, first published in 1985. The novel has won the Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children's Book Award and the California Young Reader Medal. It has also been nominated for twenty-three state book awards. Plot summary William is given a realistic model of a castle by his family's English housekeeper, Mrs. Phillips, who tells him that it has been in her family for many many years and that its toy silver knight (made of lead) is said to be under a spell. The knight, Sir Simon, comes to life and tells William stories about olden times and an evil wizard who is ruling his kingdom. Desperate to stop Mrs. Phillips from going away, William has Sir Simon shrink her with a magic token he stole from the wizard, Alastor. However, William and Sir Simon lack the ability to return Mrs. Phillips to her true size as the half of the token that can do so is with Alastor, and Mrs. Phillips falls into a depression. Learning of a legend that states that when there is a lady, a knight, and a squire, a quest can be undertaken to stop Alastor, William decides to become a squire to undo his mistake. As he will be shrunk willingly, he will return to his world at the exact moment he left, but Mrs. Phillips will lose all the time she spent in the castle until William enters. William has Sir Simon shrink him and he enters the castle to join his two friends. Mrs. Phillips and Sir Simon spend a week training him before Sir Simon and William leave, exiting the castle in Sir Simon's time. While traveling through a magical forest, Sir Simon is tempted by the apparition of his old horse Moonlight, leaves the path and disappears, after having warned William that doing just that will cause one to get lost forever. William manages to make it through the forest on his own and encounters an old man at an apple tree. After getting a specific apple for him, the old man reverts into a young man and reveals he was under a spell. In gratitude for William's actions, the man, Dick, reveals how to defeat the dragon guarding Alastor's castle. William defeats the dragon and uses the pretext of a fool seeking work to enter